"The jade pendant?" Feng Linche raised his eyebrows. "This is evidence."
How could he let the suspect see it casually?
Feng Linyuan smiled faintly, but his eyes were colder than the snow in the cold winter. "In this hall, apart from Concubine Yi and Miss Zheng, only Zheng'er and His Highness the Fourth Prince had contact with the jade pendant.
Now neither His Highness the Fourth Prince nor Zheng'er can produce their original jade pendants. So, why not let them both take a look? Maybe we can find some evidence."
Since Feng Linche disagreed to let Bai Zheng see the jade pendant alone, he might as well involve Feng Jingyang too.
"Who says Yang'er can't produce the jade pendant! Maybe this sneaky girl has hidden it somewhere." Concubine Zhao said coldly and sharply.
Feng Linyuan replied calmly, "As long as His Highness the Fourth Prince can find evidence to prove that this jade pendant belongs to Zheng'er, it's the same, isn't it?"
This remark immediately silenced Concubine Zhao.
Now the case was at a dead end. Although Bai Zheng was the most suspected, due to the lack of direct evidence, Feng Linche couldn't casually convict the future wife of the Marquis of Dingyuan.
Feng Linyuan's reason was impeccable. Facing everyone's gazes, Feng Linche pondered for a moment and then agreed.
The eunuch carefully placed the jade pendant on a shallow and wide wooden plate and held it in front of Feng Jingyang.
It had to be said that this eunuch was obviously a careful and experienced person. Although the jade pendant had been here for a long time, the marks on it were not damaged at all. It was still stained with Zheng Yan's blood.
The translucent half - moon - shaped jade pendant was completely soaked in bright red blood. As time passed, the blood had clotted and stuck to the jade pendant.
Even the dark red agate tassels hanging below looked extremely strange because of the clotted blood.
Feng Jingyang seemed reluctant. He just took a quick glance, didn't even touch it, and waved his hand. "Take it away. I really can't see anything."
Hearing this, the eunuch was about to bow and step back. Suddenly, something hit his elbow that was holding the jade pendant. He couldn't help but rush forward. The wooden plate in his hand collided with Feng Jingyang's hand that was waving out.
Suddenly, the wooden plate swayed slightly. The jade pendant on it slipped to the side and turned over in the wooden plate. The originally neat tassels were completely messed up.
Feng Jingyang frowned unhappily. The frightened eunuch quickly apologized before him. "It's the servant's fault. I bumped into His Highness the Fourth Prince. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
Seeing that the eunuch was so sensible and considering the presence of everyone, Feng Jingyang had to suppress his annoyance and said calmly, "Forget it. It's my own carelessness."
"Thank you, Your Highness." The eunuch thanked him and respectfully backed away.
Then he held the jade pendant in front of Bai Zheng.
To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, Bai Zheng also didn't touch the jade pendant. She just looked at it carefully.
After the previous impact, the jade pendant was no longer in its original smooth shape. The tassels at the bottom were scattered in a mess and spread out on the wooden plate, contrasting with the dark red bloodstains.
Bai Zheng's eyes scanned every corner of the jade pendant carefully. Suddenly, a glint flashed in her eyes.
But except for Feng Linyuan who was closest to her, no one noticed this strangeness.
"Girl, have you noticed anything?" King Yi asked impatiently.
Bai Zheng lowered her eyelids and spoke calmly, but she was asking the Marquis of Gaochang, "My lord Marquis, how is Princess Pingyang now?"
"Are you really unable to prove your innocence and trying to change the subject?" Feng Jingxuan sneered. "In front of Father, how can you play such tricks..."
His voice stopped abruptly when he saw Bai Zheng slowly raising her eyes.
Only to see that Bai Zheng's face was more solemn than ever, and her eye circles were red.
At this moment, because the sky outside was getting darker with thick clouds, candles were lit in the hall. The flickering candlelight set off Bai Zheng's cold expression, making people not dare to look directly at her.
"The princess seems to have woken up, but her emotions are still unstable." A palace maid replied in a low voice.
"Why do you ask about the princess?" Feng Linche looked at her puzzledly.
Bai Zheng didn't answer. Instead, she quickly walked to the center of the main hall, flung her sleeves, and knelt on the ground. She said seriously, "Your Majesty, this subject has found something strange about this jade pendant. I need someone who knows Miss Zheng best to testify for me.
The Marquis of Gaochang is a man. I'm afraid he doesn't understand these things. So I beg Your Majesty to ask Princess Pingyang to come forward."
"What's so strange about the jade pendant! I'm afraid you did something just now, right?" Feng Jingyang stood up suddenly and shouted.
The cold light in Feng Linyuan's eyes suddenly dimmed. "In front of everyone, everyone can see that Zheng'er didn't even touch the jade pendant just now. Instead, it was His Highness the Fourth Prince who bumped into the wooden plate with the jade pendant on it.
I didn't even suspect His Highness the Fourth Prince, but His Highness actually doubts Zheng'er has the ability to do something from a distance?"
Feng Jingyang was stunned for a moment. He stared at Feng Linyuan tightly pursing his lips.
Bai Zheng's words just now instantly shattered his calm appearance and completely brought out his panicked and fearful heart.
He was guilty and afraid.
This fear had occupied his heart since he found that his jade pendant was lost. He had just been trying his best to cover it up.
He thought that the two jade pendants were exactly the same. According to the information he had heard before, even the patterns on the jade pendants were identical.
Even Concubine Yi, who had worn it for more than ten years, couldn't tell which one was the one she gave to Feng Jingyang and which one was the one she gave to Bai Zheng.
How could Bai Zheng find anything strange?
And Princess Pingyang had never even touched the jade pendant from beginning to end. Asking her to distinguish it? It was simply nonsense!
"Humph, this prince just thinks it's too absurd to let someone who has never seen the jade pendant testify." Feng Jingyang forced a cold laugh.
"A person with a clean conscience has nothing to fear. What are you afraid of, Your Highness the Fourth Prince? As long as we can find the real culprit, why should we care about the process?" Feng Linyuan's tone was cold, which left Feng Jingyang speechless.
Concubine Zhao was extremely unhappy. She glared at Feng Linyuan. Just as she was about to speak, she heard a hoarse voice from beside her. "As long as we can find the real culprit for Yan'er, this palace is willing to do anything."
The Marquis of Gaochang immediately stood up. He saw his wife, who usually took good care of herself and had a head of black hair, suddenly with messy hair and many white hairs on her hairpin. She walked out staggeringly, looking haggard and old. His heart seemed to be tightly grasped by something.
"Pingyang..." He staggered forward.
When Princess Pingyang saw the Marquis of Gaochang, her eyes instantly became sad and weak. She lay on his chest and wiped away her tears.
"The deep affection between the princess and the marquis is really admirable. I think Miss Zheng was also influenced by her parents and was so brave in giving her love and never regretted it until the end."
Bai Zheng sighed softly.
"What do you mean?" The Marquis of Gaochang keenly caught the meaning in her words.
Bai Zheng glanced at him indifferently. Her gaze swept over without stopping and landed on Feng Jingyang.
Feng Jingyang's heart skipped a beat. He heard Bai Zheng slightly part her lips. "Your Highness the Fourth Prince, do you know why Qing Shao was injured?"